Arlington Redevelopment Board - Aug 12th, 2019

Permit 3348: 833 Massachusetts Ave. The applicant is
Poyant Signs, who performs sign installations for CVS. They've
applied to replace CVS's signage at 833 Mass Ave. For the most part,
it's a change in logo design.

The CVS pharmacy currently has two sets of internally lit channel
signs with the old "CVS/Pharmacy" logo. The proposal is to replace
these with signs containing the new logo, and to update a number of
other signs on the property. The new logo signs will be the same type
and construction as the existing ones. The proposal includes the
addition of parking signs, which will increase the total amount of
signage on the lot.

Rachel Zsembery asks whether the new signs will have individual
letters. The fellow from Poyant signs says they'll have individual
letters.

Kin Lau asks if the applicant represents CVS pharmacy or the building
owner. The fellow from Poyant says he represents both.

Mr. Lau would like the pharmacy owner to come before the board. It
sounds like there'd an abandoned house on the pharmacy's property.
During CVS's last sign hearing, the owners promised to do something
about the house, and that never happened. Mr. Lau would like an
explanation as to why that condition was never met.

The fellow from Poyant signs wasn't aware of this.

Board votes (4--0) to continue the hearing on Sept 9th.

Chris Loretti asks how the new signs will be illuminated, and if the
illumination will be on all the time. The fellow from Poyant states
that the current signs are illuminated with neon bulbs, and the new
ones will have LEDs. The times when the lights are on will not
change. Mr. Loretti asks the board to revisit the site's landscaping
plan; he feels it hasn't been maintained.

Request for Waiver of Special Permit Filing Fee. This
agenda items pertains to the application to construct a hotel at
1207--1011 Mass Ave. Andrew Bunnell would like to continue this
agenda item until Sept. 9th, so the board can receive information
regarding their authority to waive special permit filing fees. Jenny
Raitt states that the applicant has already requested a continuance
until Oct 21st. The board votes (4--0) to continue this item on Oct
21st, when the proponent comes before the board.

Permit 3604: 108 Summer Street. Foodlink (an Arlington
non-profit) purchased the former NAPA auto parts building at 108
Summer street. They'd like to renovate the building and use it for
their operations.

One of Foodlink's co-founders provides a summary of the organization.
Foodlink was started in 2012. They collect 1,600 pounds of food per
week, and distribute it to 38 different organizations that assist the
food insecure. These organizations are spread across sixteen
communities, but a number of them reside in Arlington. Foodlink has
four full-time employees and lots of volunteers.

A representative of Reverse Architecture presents the renovation
plans. The building was formerly an auto parts store, and it's
basically a simple concrete box. Half of the offices on the second
floor will be rented out. Foodlink will use the remaining space on
the second floor, and their main operations will be on the first.
This includes activities like receiving food, sorting, packaging , and
distribution. They intend to make the first floor fully handicapped
accessible. They'll add a covered area over the loading dock, which
is on the West side of the building, near an MBTA bus stop. A portion
of the parking lot will be replaced with permeable pavement; they're
also proposing grading work and installation of a retaining wall. The
roof will capture drainwater and divert it to a dry well on site. The
renovation will add six long-term bicycle parking spaces and four
short-term ones. Office tenants will pay a fee for parking.

Foodlink is requesting a parking reduction, from fifteen to eight
spaces. They've secured four spaces from Scutra for weekend use.
Employee parking will be located on the east side of the building, and
the west side will be used for deliveries; it's got enough space to
accommodate a 40' box truck.

The applicants expect Foodlink to generate up to two vehicle trips per
hour.

Foodlink plans to replace all of the windows on the Summer street side
of the building, and add wooden trim. They expect the renovated
building to use 80% less energy than the current one. Exterior
lighting will be controlled by motion sensors, and they'll add a sign
on the front of the building.

Andrew Bunnell thinks the building plans are thoughtful and well done.
He'd like to see a transportation demand management plan. The
architect notes that the renovated building will have showers, and
they plan to provide a bicycle for volunteer use.

Mr. Bunnell asks if Foodlink has made any plans regarding office
tenants. Foodlink President DeAnne Dupont says they haven't
confirmed any tenants yet. They'd prefer a tenant who served the
public, and was interested in sustainability.

Kin Lau asks if the canopies will be lit. Yes, they'll have recessed
lighting, activated by motion sensors.

Mr. Lau notes that some of the trees growing along the bike path are
very tall. He asks if that will interfere with their plans to install
rooftop solar panels. The architect explained that a solar panel
company provided an assessment, and believed the panels would be
viable in that location. They'll be mounted low, on the surface of
the roof.

Mr. Lau asks a few questions about windows, and if the applicants
would consider taking some of the exterior trim from the loading area,
and reallocating it to the front of the building.

Rachel Zsembery asks whether most visitors will use the front door or
the accessible entrance. The architect says the accessible entrance
was intended to ease loading and unloading. Ms. Dupont stated her
desire to keep maintenance costs down, which makes her hesitant to put
wood trim on the front of the building, where it will be exposed to
the weather.

Mr. Lau think the front door needs work; he says it looks more like a
side door. David Watson believes that the real business of Foodlink
happens on the loading dock; that's how he interprets the design.

Ms. Zsembery suggests a band of wood trim around the front door.
She's not trying to drive up costs, but would like to improve the face
of the building that's shown to the neighborhood.

The architect says they'd consider painting murals on the outside of
the building, at some point in the future. But he agrees to work on
the exterior treatments.

Mr. Watson believes the proposed renovation is a big improvement over
the auto parts store. He's disappointed that the MBTA wasn't amenable
to creating a walkway between the bike path and bus stop. He'd also
like to see a TDM plan, and to see the applicants formalize the best
way to enter the building from various modes of transit. He
appreciates the thought and attention given to bicycle parking. With
respect to the request for parking reduction, Mr. Watson notes that
the board will need to see a legally enforceable agreement, stating
that Foodlink has use of parking spaces at Scutra. Jenny Raitt says
the applicant will provide a letter to show the shared parking
agreement.

Ms. Zsembery asks if there's a handicapped parking space on the side
of the building with the accessible entrance. No, there's not.
Ms. Zsembery believes this is something to consider.

Mr. Lau suggests that Foodlink obtain a construction easement from the
MBTA before starting work, to avoid any surprises.

Mr. Lau asks about driveway width. They lose a foot of width or so at
one end of the lot, because the property tapers. There's discussion
about designating one of the parking spaces as compact-only.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

Greg Morella (?) suggests that the bus stop on Summer street be moved
100' to the west. He believes that would make more room for delivery
trucks.

James Cutter (?) is happy about the project, and looking forward to
having Foodlink as his new neighbor. He asks the board to consider a
crosswalk between the two MBTA bus stops.

With no more public comment, Mr. Bunnell suggests continuing the
hearing on Sept 9th. The architect asks the board to summarize what
they're expecting to see. Mr. Lau reiterates their requests for the
front door, loading area, and a transportation demand management plan.

Mr. Bunnell asks if they have a landscaping plan. Mr. Lau thinks a
few notes on the site plans would be sufficient.

Mr. Watson asks how often trucks will make deliveries to the loading
dock. Foodlink expects two deliveries per week, usually between 11:00
and 13:30 on Thursdays.

Ms. Dupont is concerned about how a continuation will affect their
construction schedule. Foodlink is leasing space at the Parmenter
school, and their lease will expire in January. Mr. Bunnell suggests
that the board could incorporate the open items into the order of
conditions: the applicant shall provide a transportation demand
management plan, work with department staff on the treatment of the
front door and loading dock, and provide evidence of parking
agreements.

Citizens Open Forum. An attendee asks Erin Zwirko about the
presentation slides she was showing. He was wondering if the material
came from PDF or from Powerpoint slides. Ms. Zwirko said it was a
pdf, shown full-screen.